History CreatorBreakdown / WesternAnimation

* Parodied in Creator/DonHertzfeldt's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuOvqeABHvQ short film]], ''WesternAnimation/{{Rejected}}''. Hertzfeldt is unable to sell any of his work, and as a result, the creation quite literally falls apart.

* Shortly after the first season of ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' Joe Murray's first wife [[DrivenToSuicide committed suicide]], so Murray started spending less and less time working on the series, until he finally just gave up on it altogether. Thus seasons 3 and 4 are not produced by him, and the series came to an end after season 4. For a while out of grief, he MisBlamed the series for his wife's suicide. He also went though this during the making of ''WesternAnimation/CampLazlo'', this time as a result of his second wife divorcing him.

* In-universe example in the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy VI: The Motion Picture". The titular film suffers a comically-exaggerated TroubledProduction, culminating in Patrick having filmed the whole thing [[WhatAnIdiot with the lens cap still on the camera]]. [=SpongeBob=] suffers a massive FreakOut, and it's only thanks to a RousingSpeech[=/=]RamblingOldManMonologue from Mermaid Man that the film actually gets finished.

* Towards the end of his theatrical career Creator/TexAvery suffered from depression and was convinced that he couldn't be funny anymore, part of this was because his son died from a heroin overdose. Fittingly, one of his last shorts, ''WesternAnimation/{{Shhhhhh}}'', which deals with a man who suffers a nervous breakdown due to stress, seems to capture the ordeal he was going through.

** This trope appears to be the theme and driving force of the episode "[[Recap/SouthParkS15E7YoureGettingOld You're Getting Old]]". Parker and Stone, however, [[{{Jossed}} have stated that fans "took the episode too seriously" and deny being unhappy with the show]].

* Shortly after the first season of ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' Joe Murray's first wife [[DrivenToSuicide committed suicide]], so Murray started spending less and less time working on the series, until he finally just gave up on it altogether. Thus seasons 3 and 4 are not produced by him, and the series came to an end after season 4. For a while out of grief, he MisBlamed the series for his wife's suicide. He also went though this during the making of ''WesternAnimation/Camp Lazlo'', this time as a result of his second wife divorcing him.

* Shortly after the first season of ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' Joe Murray's first wife [[DrivenToSuicide committed suicide]], so Murray started spending less and less time working on the series, until he finally just gave up on it altogether. Thus seasons 3 and 4 are not produced by him, and the series came to an end after season 4. For a while out of grief, he MisBlamed the series for his wife's suicide.
* Joe Murray went though this during the making of ''WesternAnimation/CampLazlo'', this time a result of his second wife divorcing him.

* Parodied in Creator/DonHertzfeldt's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuOvqeABHvQ short film]], ''WesternAnimation/{{Rejected}}''. The creation quite literally falls apart.

* In-universe example in the ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarePants'' episode "Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy VI: The Motion Picture". The titular film suffers a comically-exaggerated TroubledProduction, culminating in Patrick having filmed the whole thing [[WhatAnIdiot with the lens cap still on the camera]]. Spongebob suffers a massive FreakOut, and it's only thanks to a RousingSpeech[=/=]RamblingOldManMonologue from Mermaid Man that the film actually gets finished.

** He also went though this during the making of ''WesternAnimation/CampLazlo'', this time a result of his second wife divorcing him.

* Jor Murray went though this with ''WesternAnimation/CampLazlo'', this time a result of his second wife divorcing him.

** The character of Cartman's mom was created and named after Parker's ex-fiancée who left him at the altar. Liane Cartman has slept with virtually every inhabitant of South Park, although as of late she's actually become more firm and less slutty, indicating that Parker's feelings on the matter have died down at this point.
*** The same girlfriend was the name of the horse in ''Film/CannibalTheMusical'' -- who leaves Parker's character during the film. In fact, just listen to the drunken commentary on the DVD.

** A similar turn of events happened with ''WesternAnimation/CampLazlo'', this time a result of his second wife divorcing him.
* Towards the end of his theatrical career Creator/TexAvery suffered from depression and was convinced that he couldn't be funny anymore, part of this was because his son died from a heroin overdose.
** Fittingly, one of his last shorts, ''WesternAnimation/{{Shhhhhh}}'', which deals with a man who suffers a nervous breakdown due to stress, seems to capture the ordeal he was going through.

* Narrowly averted with Pendleton Ward, who stepped down as showrunner for ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' sometime during the production of season five, after realizing that the stress of running the show was starting to drive him crazy.
* Occurs in-universe in the ''WesternAnimation/RenAndStimpy'' episode "Reverend Jack". Meat salesman and meat-puppeteer Reverend Jack Cheese has a psychotic break and stops producing shows, eventually forcing the title characters to carry on the business without him--and leading to Cheese becoming their new harshest critic.
** Reverend Jack was a TakeThat at show creator Creator/JohnKricfalusi. Speaking of, according to background artist William Wray, a combo of John K. getting fired from ''WesternAnimation/RenAndStimpy'', letting the shows success get to his head ''and'' losing his longtime girlfriend during its production were all factors in his career gradually spiraling downhill from then on.

* Occurs in-universe in the ''WesternAnimation/RenAndStimpy'' episode "Reverend Jack". Meat salesman and meat-puppeteer (as well as John Kricfalusi surrogate) Reverend Jack Cheese has a psychotic break and stops producing shows, eventually forcing the title characters to carry on the business without him--and leading to Cheese becoming their new harshest critic.
* According to William Wray, a combo of Creator/JohnKricfalusi getting fired from ''WesternAnimation/RenAndStimpy'', letting the shows success get to his head ''and'' losing his longtime girlfriend during its production were all factors in his career gradually spiraling downhill from then on.

** [[WordOfGod According to]] co-creator Trey Parker, the episode "Raisins" (in which Stan's girlfriend Wendy breaks up with him) was based on the trials and tribulations he went through when he found his fiancée in bed with another man. Stan's thoughts in the episode reflect Parker's.

** This trope appears to be the theme and driving force of the episode "You're Getting Old". Parker and Stone, however, [[{{Jossed}} have stated that fans "took the episode too seriously" and deny being unhappy with the show]].
** The "Simpsons did it" episode has a very exasperated tone in response to a charge Parker and Stone had clearly gotten sick to death of.

* At a convention, Meghan [=McCarthy=] said of writing ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' that the reason that one of the main characters [[SanitySlippage goes crazy]] in many of the episodes she's written is because they were mostly composed in the wee hours of the morning under a tight deadline, reflecting her stress.

* Occurs in-universe in the RenAndStimpy episode ''Reverend Jack''. Meat salesman and meat-puppeteer (as well as [[TakeThat John Kricfalusi surrogate]]) Reverend Jack Cheese has a psychotic break and stops producing shows, eventually forcing the title characters to carry on the business without him (and leading to him becoming their new harshest critic).

* Towards the end of his theatrical career Creator/TexAvery suffered from depression and was convinced that he couldn't be funny anymore.

** Fittingly, one of his last shorts, ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Shhhhhh}}]]'', which deals with a man who suffers a nervous breakdown due to stress, seems to capture the ordeal he was going through.

** Fittingly, one of his last shorts, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w0QoQX48kw SH-H-H-H-H-H]], which deals with a man who suffers a nervous breakdown due to stress, seems to capture the ordeal he was going through.